Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan yesterday (20) said that the land disputes in the Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts are rampant and every possible effort is taken by the Provincial Council to solve them.

He made this statement while making representations before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute yesterday (20).

“Eastern Provincial Council has taken great pains to settle the land disputes of the people. We are handling the land issues very cautiously", he said.

The Chief Minister added that most of the Muslim and Tamil families in the Batticaloa district have been resettled by the Government. The Chief Minister said that he has entered the democratic political process and is committed to develop the Province.

He further stated that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was able to free the country from terrorism and the country is heading towards development. Chandrakanthan added that Prabhakaran did not have proper understanding over the political process and geo-political situation during the time the CFA was signed. He said that cracks were developing within the LTTE when the CFA was signed.

The Chief Minister was extensively questioned by the Commission members on how the land disputes are being settled in the Province. The Chief Minister in reply said that the people in the Province who migrated to foreign lands or left to other areas of the country owing to the conflict can reclaim their original lands if they have deeds.

Commission Chairman CR de Silva, PC referring to the issue that arose when its sittings took place in the Batticaloa district asked the Chief Minister whether these people have been barred from entering their lands.

Chandrakanthan said they have not been barred from reclaiming their lands and those who have original deeds can reclaim their lands at any time. He added that they have legal rights.

Over 6,000 people who were displaced by the LTTE terrorists in the Sampur area can be given alternative lands if they wish. Chief Minister Chandrakanthan said these people refused to have alternative lands in the same Divisional Secretariat Division and they insist that they wanted their original properties. He added that this matter has been referred to President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he visited the Eastern Province recently. The Chief Minister in reply to a query posed by Commission member Manohari Ramanathan said that he is looking into any problem personally that arises in the Province. When he was inquired of the massacre of over 700 police officers in the Kalmunai, Samanthurai and Akkarapattu police stations on June 11, 1990, the Chief Minister said that he was a student at that time. He said that he joined the LTTE on February 04, 1991. He added that he overheard that these police officers were killed by the LTTE after two or three weeks.